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I am writing these words a few hours before the inaugural public performance of the Citizen’s Kazoo Orchestra (CKO) on Camden High Street and a tangible feeling of Kazoo-infused excitement is rising up within me. The CKO has been formed at great haste because of Camden Council’s plans to impose a draconian license scheme for busking in shared public spaces of this great London Borough, which will give the police and council officials extraordinary powers to seize busker’s instruments, to impose fines of up to £1000 and to sell instruments if the fine is unpaid after 28 days. The central ideas of the CKO is that everybody can play the Kazoo, so it’s democratic, and everybody is welcome to join, so it is inclusive. Most importantly, if the police or council decided to try and seize an illegal Kazoo, they would,

a) Look very silly indeed

b) Be unable to stem the tide of replacement Kazoos filling the breach. At 5o-pence-a-pop they are the citizen’s choice to blow a fulsome raspberry at badly misconceived local government policies.

The Politics…

Camden is a Labour-led Council. A party that at a national level is presenting itself as ‘One Nation Labour’, giving a voice to the voiceless, standing alongside the dispossessed and the vulnerable and against powerful special interests that restrict freedoms and erode communities, especially the evil Tories who are privatising everything that moves. Local authority budgets have been some of the hardest hit by the austerity agenda of the Coalition Government. This year alone Camden Council are having to find ‘savings’ to the order of an incredible £83.3 million pounds from their already over-stretched budgets. These cuts will inevitably fall most heavily on those with the greatest needs: the old, the disabled, the sick, the unemployed and others who are marginalised. In this light, it is simply staggering that Labour-controlled Camden have mobilised thousands of pounds of public money in order to carry out a public consultation with a view to implementing one of the UK’s most restrictive busking policies, effectively privatising huge swathes of public space for those who wish for nothing more than the right to play music on the streets. Camden Council have attempted to cloak their decision making in a veneer of reasonableness by saying they are protecting residents who have complained about the noise that street musicians make, particularly around the tube station at the top of the high street. Apart from the fact that Camden is known for being one of the busiest and most vibrant places in London, these complaints – around 100 in total over the last 12 months in the whole of Camden – represent an insignificant fraction of the overall complaints received by the Noise Team in the whole borough, and yet the licence scheme is all-encompasing affecting every street and public space in the Borough of Camden. Research from the Live Music Forum indicates that over 90% of complaints about relate to noise from private residences and venues, not from buskers. In addition, the noise from the millions of tonnes of metal-entombed mobile internal combustion engines that roar down the street every day also comes with CO2 emissions for good measure. If the Council were really serious about controlling noise and environmental pollution they would mobilise resources against persistent noise offending venues and private residences, and consider pedestrianising the high street for the benefit of residents and visitors alike. Instead, the Council have decided to focus their limited resources upon a a small group of individuals who are easy to scapegoat and easier still to overlook, namely, buskers!

Public and Private

By requiring would-be buskers to fork out between £30 and £123 for a license, by banning all wind and percussion instruments and amplifiers REGARDLESS of the volume they are played at or the aptitude that they are played with, Camden Council are removing any potential for spontaneity and creativity and giving the police and council officials the power to destroy the livelihoods of individuals whose only crime is trying to make an honest living in one of the world’s most expensive cities. No one is saying that buskers don’t create noise issues from time to time, but the police and council ALREADY have extensive powers to move buskers on IF they are creating a genuine nuisance. The Environmental Protection Act 1990, The Highways Act 1980 and the Public Order Act all give the police powers if they need to use them. What these laws DON’T permit is the confiscation of instruments and the arbitrary imposition of £1000 fines with the threat of selling instruments if the fines are unpaid. Even bailiffs are not permitted to confiscate the tools of a person’s trade when collecting debts for the very good reason that this will prevent them from being able to earn in the future. The powers that Camden Council are proposing to give themselves are wide open to abuse and are an affront to any reasonable sense of proportion and balance. The plans are also an assault on the rights of people to use public space for informal performances of music, and as such, represent a further erosion of communal forms of life and cultural freedoms.

“In the short-term we will be reinforcing existing laws, for example when a busker obstructs passage we can legally move them.

“In the long-term we are changing policies and opting for a strict new one, meaning very specific powers to deal with busking. It will involve designated areas for them, and will not allow amps or more than one person at a time. So instead of bands we’ll see the return of traditional busking musicians.”

We know exactly what those ‘very specific powers’ are now, and they are an insult to freedom and to fairness. Many street performers use battery-powered amplifiers to support their performances. For anyone playing a classical or electric guitar they are an essential piece of equipment enabling music to be heard above the noise of traffic. Amplifiers can always be turned down if there are complaints, but to ban them entirely, along with percussion and wind instruments will have the effect of destroying livelihoods; whilst doing little to alter the fact that Camden is a noisy place. People flock to Camden from all over the world precisely because it is known as a cultural and musical epicentre with a vibrant night-life. In an all-out assault on buskers, Camden Council are demonstrating a tin ear for what really makes the place tick.

Later in the same article and in a clear sign that the wrongheadedness in Camden Council crosses party lines, Lib Dem councillor Chris Naylor cryptically alludes to development plans that might well alter the unique character of Camden for good…

He said: “There were plans to build a huge shiny shopping centre all the way from HSBC bank to Buck Street which would have knocked down the church and Camden Market.

“Now, we don’t want to do that in as big a way, but a smaller scale version is being talked about. That would mean this whole area would be changing anyway, and within that we could discuss options.”

Banning buskers whilst making plans to build a new shopping centres in the ruins of an iconic Market which is synonymous with Camden against a backdrop of savage local authority cuts? It’s a deeply depressing story which is why it is so important that the plans to regulate street music out of existence must be opposed in a spirit of creative and loving resistance. That’s where the Citizen’s Kazoo Orchestra and the 2600 and counting people who have signed our petition calling on Camden to think again come in and why we won’t go away until these wrongheaded plans are abandoned!

ASAP (Association of Street Artists And Performers) Founder and Director, Jonny Walker was invited to respond to the proposal set out for the strict regulation of busking and street performance by Camden Council. This is his response, on behalf of ASAP!, sent to the council on 1st October 2013, alongside the launch of his petition against such a draconian scheme coming into place:

1.) Camden is concerned with the numbers of entertainers who are using amplifiers and loud musical instruments on the street, some of whom have little regard to occupiers of property in the area or other people using the street. Camden believes that nuisance has been caused to local residents and businesses, and that there is potential for nuisance to be caused in any part of the borough. Camden also believes that on some occasions there is a risk to safety of people using the street, and that increased opportunities have been created for crime to occur, such as pickpocketing.Part V of the London Local Authorities Act 2000 (“the Act”) provides optional powers for London Councils to adopt to license busking, and Camden has created the proposed Policy according to the powers contained in that Act. Camden does not intend to use the Policy to prevent busking, but instead introduce a licensing regime to control street entertainment on the highway and on open spaces in the area only where this is necessary.Do you agree that Camden should adopt the Act to regulate busking for the reasons given, and that it should apply to the whole borough?

No

The London Local Authorities Act 2000 empowers public officials or approved contractors to seize the musical instruments/equipment of unlicensed buskers, to impose fines of up to £1000, and to sell a busker’s instruments if the fine is not paid within 28 days. These powers are draconian and have the potential to deprive people of their livelihoods and the tools of their trade. To our knowledge they have only been adopted by Hillingdon Council so far, not a London Borough renowned for its cultural offering! Whilst other Councils have considered implementing this Act, they have so far decided against it. The implications of Camden adopting this Act are troubling for Camden’s deserved reputation as an artistic and cultural hub.

In addition to target wind and percussion instruments and amplifiers per se, rather than actual noise complaints, is unfair to any musician who plays these instruments. Camden is a busy place, there is lots of noise from traffic, roadworks, shops and other places. An amplifier is often an essential part of a street musicians toolkit and can always be turned down if requested.

The London Local Authorities Act 2000 does not allow councils to ‘prevent’ busking, however it does allow them to introduce a license for busking on designated streets, provided certain criteria have been met. However, the threshold for the introduction of the London Local Authorities Act requires evidence of ‘undue interference with’ or ‘risk to safety of persons using a street in that part of their area, or other streets within the vicinity of that street’ or ‘nuisance to the occupiers of property in or in the vicinity of a street in that part of their area’. These thresholds would need to be evidenced thoroughly in order to justify the imposition of a Licensing Regime. The claims made by Camden Council regarding alleged threats to public safety and nuisance, made in order to justify the introduction of a License regime are vague and consist of unsubstantiated conjecture and would be therefore open to legal challenge at this point. In any event it would be necessary for the council to demonstrate that these thresholds had been clearly met, and justified the imposition of a license, not just in the streets that had experienced ‘problems’, but throughout the entire Borough. We have made Freedom of Information requests to ascertain where the complaints are coming from, and from whom. We have also made requests to the police for evidence of ‘danger’ caused by busking, and specific examples of opportunities for pickpocketing to occur as a result of busking.

Additionally there are a number of laws available to the police and the local authority that relate to noise, obstruction and public nuisance. These include, but are not limited to:

Highways Act 1980 deals with Obstruction

Public Order Act

Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 (Local Authorities)
Extends powers for local authorities to clean up the environment, and applies controls over noisy premises, advertisements and waste.

Environmental Noise (England) Regulations 2006 SI 2238 (Local Authorities)
Requires the Government to identify noise sources for strategic noise maps and noise action areas to be drawn up for, covering large areas of population, major roads, railways and airports.

Environmental Noise (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2009 SI 1610 (Local Authorities)
Amends 2006/2238 by making changes to the definition of ‘consolidated noise map’ and to the identification of noise sources and ‘quiet areas’.

Environmental Protection Act 1990 (Environment Agency and Local Authority)
Defines within England, Scotland and Wales the legal framework for duty of care for waste, contaminated land and statutory nuisance.

Noise and Statutory Nuisance Act 1993 (Local Authorities)
Sets measures for street noise, operating loudspeakers in a street, intruder alarms and covers local council expenses for abating or preventing nuisance from recurring.

Noise Emission in the Environment by Equipment for Use Outdoors Regulations 2001 SI 1701 (Local Authorities)
Establishes maximum noise levels for equipment used outdoors, mainly in construction and land maintenance, such as generators, lawn mowers, compaction machines and concrete breakers.

Noise Emission in the Environment by Equipment for Use Outdoors (Amendment) Regulations 2001 SI 3958 (Local Authorities)
Amends 2001/1701 to clarify that the regulations apply to the sound power level of equipment.

Noise Emission in the Environment by Equipment for Use Outdoors (Amendment) Regulations 2005 SI 3525 (Local Authorities)
Amends 2001/1701 to set out the sound power limits for various categories of equipment.

The local authority and the police have a wide range of existing powers that can be adequately used against buskers who are creating a genuine nuisance. By introducing a mandatory license scheme for busking Camden will effectively be criminalising an activity that, provided it did not breach other legislation, was previously legal. This constitutes the creation of an additional layer of bureaucracy and restriction upon the use of public space and risks diminishing the cultural life of the Borough. This is unnecessary because the council and the police already have the powers they need in order to deal with episodes of genuine nuisance. We could point to cities as diverse as Glasgow, Edinburgh, Chester, Bath, Norwich, Cambridge and Bournemouth as places where the council publishes a busking code backed up national legislation, but without placing undue restrictions upon the use of public space

2.) If Camden adopts the Act and includes the whole borough, busking will be prohibited in all parts of the borough without a license, unless the type of entertainment is excluded from needing a license. Camden may only issue busking licenses in areas that have been designated as a licensed street, and therefore Camden proposes to designate the whole borough as a licensed street.This approach is proposed to avoid:a. any confusion about where busking is and isn’t permitted or where a license is required,b. prohibiting busking in certain areas; andc. displacement of buskers from one area to another.

Do you agree that the whole borough should be designated as a licensed street?

If you don’t agree please state why not, and if appropriate, specify what areas should or shouldn’t be subject to the controls over busking.

ASAP! does not agree with scheme in its current form and does not feel that particular streets should be turned into ‘licensed streets’.

There are many streets in Camden with little history of busking-related complaints, safety issues or nuisance concerns. The imposition of a license across the entire borough is not a proportionate response to the noise complaints that have been received by Camden Council.

Using the Act in a blanket, ‘catch-all’ fashion to cover the entirety of the Borough of Camden is not justified and brings areas which may have had few, if any, busking related incidents under the same regulatory framework which applies to those areas that have attracted more complaints. The business community of Hampstead, for instance, welcomes buskers and have drawn up their own code of conduct and system of auditions which works well. Why should strict controls be placed upon that part of Camden because there have been complaints in other areas?

Busking without a license should be allowed throughout Camden, provided that the busking is undertaken with consideration for other users of shared public space.

3.) Permitted TimesCamden proposes to prescribe permitted times in the street designation of 10:00 to 21:00 on all days.The proposed permitted times in the street designation are to be treated as maximum hours, and shorter hours can be applied as a license condition if necessary.This proposal is made following initial feedback from members of the public and discussions with the Licensing Committee on appropriate times.Do you agree with the proposed maximum hours set out here?

The permitted times proposed are unduly restrictive and prescriptive. Camden has a visitor economy that reflects its vibrant and varied nightlife as well as its many day time attractions. By excluding the possibility of any street performance after 9pm, Camden are removing an important aspect of the visitor experience after this time.

Permitted times should be informal and should reflect the fact that different streets have different rhythms often depending on the day of the week as well as the time of day. Busking after a certain time would be inappropriate later on in a street that is predominately residential, but there are parts of Camden which begin to get busy only after 9pm and buskers form part of the visible landscape of the night time visitor economy. Good buskers naturally time their performances accordingly.

There is a growing body of academic evidence emerging from the field of Human Geography that points to the fact that buskers can create a sense of place in and help promote urban well-being whilst creating opportunities for spontaneous and serendipitous encounters. In addition, busking can make the streets feel safer at night. Buskers act as an extra pair of eyes at street level, can witness and report crimes, and can help towards creating a more welcoming atmosphere particularly at night when there is often more prevalence of anti-social behaviour. Music changes the atmosphere of a street and can make them seem like less threatening places.

There is huge potential for buskers to work collaboratively alongside neighbourhood policing teams in the common aim of making the streets a safer and more pleasant environment. Buskers with relevant training in first aid and dealing with homelessness and other social problems have the potential to be civic assets and to work alongside the local authority towards the common goal of improving the well being of those who live in and visit Camden, regardless of the time of day.

4.) Excluded EntertainmentCamden proposes to exclude the following types of entertainment from needing a busking license:d. Entertainment that does not include music as part of the performance and does not involve the use of amplifiers. Examples of such entertainment are, without limitation, clowns, juggling, mime artists, living statues, puppet shows, poetry readings, or anything similar. (Any entertainment of this nature that does include music or use amplifiers for the performance will still need a busking license, unless it benefits from another exemption)e. Carol Singing, Maypole Dancing, Morris Dancing, or similar entertainment that is a traditional part of seasonal festivities.f. Any entertainment that is performed on a bandstand or similar site within a park or open space. For this exemption to apply, the site must be provided on a permanent basis by the landowner or person responsible for managing the park or open space.g. Any entertainment that is performed as part of a street party, community festival, charitable fundraising event, protest march or similar event.h. Any entertainment that is part of an event organized by Camden or has been organized in conjunction with Camden.

Do you agree that Camden should exclude the types of entertainment listed from needing a busking license?

Yes

Camden’s decision to single out music amongst all other forms of entertainment is deeply regrettable, particularly in the light of Camden’s deserved reputation as a mainstay of the live music scene in London. The proposal to exempt community events and seasonal entertainment from the requirements is welcome, but only serves to highlight how restrictive the licensing requirement remains for anybody who wishes to use a musical instrument in the shared public spaces of Camden without prior approval. This is a form of pre-emptive discrimination against all musicians when compared to other art forms.

Morris Dancing, Maypole dancing, community events and protest marches all have the potential to be hugely disruptive. The fact that Camden are exempting them from controls, as well as other forms of street entertainment, shows that the plans to license all musical busking are also unnecessary.

A sensible policy would not single out music, instead it would focus on intrusion and actual noise levels in specific, individual instances, which can easily be taken with a decibel metre. A blanket license upon music alone is unjustified.

5.) Application RequirementsCamden proposes that the following documents need to be submitted with the application:i. A completed Busking License application form, with the details required in Camden’s regulations (Appendix C of the Policy)j. A passport sized photograph of the applicantk. The license fee in full

Application Requirements from Appendix C of the PolicyAll applications should be made on the application form provided by Camden, and should beaccompanied by a passport size photograph of the performer, along with the application fee.The following information is required for all applications:a. Name and Address (where the application is made by a group, the Name and Address of all members of that group)b. Contact detailsc. Type of entertainment to be performed and description of equipment to be usedd. Whether the applicant has previously been refused a busking license (in Camden or elsewhere) or has had a busking license revokedThe following information is required to vary or remove the standard conditions:a. The conditions requested to be varied, with any proposals for alternative conditionsb. The locations where the entertainment is intended to be performed with sufficient information to identify those locations (e.g. street addresses, local landmarks etc.)c. The times the entertainment is to be performedd. The expected duration of performancese. The number of performances expected per week/month/year (as appropriate) in each locationf. If amplifiers are to be used, further details for that equipment including the make and model, maximum power output and expected battery life. If known, the Sound Pressure Level (or dB) output of the speaker should also be provided.Do you agree that the application requirements are appropriate? (Including those set out in the regulations at Appendix C)

ASAP! disagrees with a mandatory license for busking. We disagree with the imposition of a licence fee and the requirement to agree with terms and conditions that are unduly restrictive and which have not been agreed collaboratively. The imposition of an application process will exclude people who can’t afford the licence fee, and who are only going to be in Camden for a short time. Many buskers travel from place to place so access to public space is really important for them. If an application process is introduced it will mean that many people are excluded from performing at all. Also, performers who are only going to be visiting for a short while will not be able to justify paying an annual fee. Many professional buskers perform in over 40 towns and cities a year. If they faced controls like this in every area it would be impossible to make an income.

The application process, particularly where variations to the standard conditions is concerned, is unduly prescriptive. Busking is characteristically an informal and impromptu form of entertainment. Introducing mandatory busking licences fundamentally misconstrues the very nature of busking which is characterised by informal performances which slot into the urban landscape. Busking pitches are often fluid and change with the dynamic of the street and the time of day.
By asking for expected performance durations and the number of expected performances in a given year as a condition of its license, Camden risks removing the spontaneity that is intrinsic to the nature of busking.

6.) Decision making procedure

The proposal includes a procedure that will be followed to determine applications, which is summarized as:Grant: All applications that do not request to remove or vary the standard conditions, unless there have been previous enforcement/compliance issuesRefuse: All applications that go beyond the hours of 10am to 9pm, or are for a street that is not a Licensed StreetGrant or Refuse: All other applications will be determined by an officer panel who can either grant or refuse the application. This may include requests to vary Standard Conditions, where a license has previously been revoked, or where there have been other compliance issues

Procedure to Determine Applications from Appendix C of the PolicyAll Applicationsl. Applications for any street (or area) that is not a Licensed Street will in all cases be refused (see Section 3 of the Policy)m. A License will not be granted for times beyond the maximum hours set out in Section 3 of the PolicyNew Applicationse. Applications that do not request any changes to the standard conditions will in most cases be granted by default.f. Applications granted by default will be granted subject to the Standard Conditions for a period of 12 months, and will permit busking in any area designated as a Licensed Street.g. Applications that involve the use of equipment not permitted by the Standard Conditions (e.g. amplifiers) will be refused unless a variation to the Standard Conditions is requested (see procedure below)h. Applications from performers that have previously had an application refused, a license revoked, or have been the subject of complaints or enforcement action will be decided according to the procedure for variations (see procedure below)Variation Applications and Panel Proceduresg. Applications that request changes to the Standard Conditions or that aren’t granted by default will be determined by an officer panel (“the Panel) and according to this Policy.h. The Panel will be formed of at least three Council officers who have knowledge and experience of street entertainment or other relevant issues, which can include (but not limited to) cultural events & festivals, entertainment licensing, highways enforcement, noise/nuisance prevention and street trading.i. The Panel will always strive to ensure that when it is considering an application all persons get a proper and fair hearing through:Considering each case on its merits.Using the Policy to assess applications and make a determinationDealing with the application in a balanced and impartial manner.Ensuring that the rules of natural justice are applied in any hearings held.Giving a person making an application sufficient opportunity to present information for consideration in support of their application.

1. The starting point for the Panel will be that the Standard Conditions are imposed by default on all Busking Licenses, which have been consulted on and are Regulations made by Camden under the Act. The Panel will only remove or vary the Standard Conditions if a good reason to do so is provided by the applicant, and where the applicant has provided proposals to prevent or limit potential public nuisance to nearby occupiers, or address other relevant concerns. The Panel must give its reasons for removing or varying each Standard Condition.2. To ensure application costs are kept to a minimum and that applications can be determined as promptly as possible, the panel will normally determine applications according to written documents provided by the applicant and will not normally invite oral representations to be made in person by the applicant.3. The applicant will be informed in advance that the application is to be considered by the Panel, and will have the opportunity to provide any additional information that they wish to provide in support of the their application.4. If the applicant requests to make oral representations to the Panel (i.e. attend the panel in person to explain the application), the Panel has discretion to allow this but is not required to allow oral representations. If the Panel exercises its discretion, this will not involve an audition process and no facilities will be provided for performances to be carried on. The Panels role is to determine the application in line with this Policy, and not to make an assessment on the type or quality of the performance.5. The decision of the Panel will be confirmed in writing to the applicant as soon as is reasonably practicable after the panel meeting.6. The Panel may grant a license for a duration up to 12 months, but also has discretion to grant a license for a shorter period depending on the circumstances.7. The Panel will always grant a license subject to the Standard Conditions that haven’t been varied or removed, and may also apply additional conditions to the license according to Section 7 of the Policy.Do you agree that the procedure is appropriate? (Including that set out in the regulations at Appendix C)

The process for obtaining a non-standard, or indeed, a standard license is unduly bureaucratic and burdensome, not to say costly. Most professional buskers use some form of amplification equipment, usually battery powered amps, in order to be heard, within a certain radius, over the ambient street noise (traffic, shops, roadworks, people). There is no clear explanation of timescales for consideration of applications for the non-standard license. The panel is not obliged to hear oral representations for this license. There appears to be a clear presumption against granting a non-standard license, unless an (unspecified) good reason is given. The clear intent of this seems to be to make it very difficult to legitimately use ANY amplifier, wind instrument or percussive instrument, regardless of the noise level, or the aptitude of the performer, or the noise level relative to the surrounding environment. A presumption appears to exist that busking is intrinsically a nuisance or potential nuisance which appears to prejudge the issue.

In addition, many of the conditions listed in table 1 ‘grounds for refusal of applications’ are not reasonable. In many cases they are not controllable by the busker for example footfall and crime levels. ASAP would value an opportunity to look at Camden Council’s (CC) criteria for assessing what an acceptable ‘type of performance’ is, and how that criteria has been arrived at.

People using public space for informal performances of art and music should not be subject to unnecessary or excessive controls and interference from the police or the local authority. Any action taken against a busker should be proportionate and appropriate and backed up by substantiated evidence, namely, decibel-readings taken by a competent and qualified Environmental Health officer. Only in cases where demonstrable harm is being done should enforcement action be taken. In the vast majority of instances, mutually respectful dialogue and cooperation can resolve disputes.

7.) Standard ConditionsThe Standard Conditions proposed are designed to allow flexibility for buskers, and are intended to prevent nuisance and obstructions. The conditions do not limit where performances can be carried on, but place the onus on the busker to ensure the location is suitable for their performance.The Standard Conditions also prevent the following types of equipment and instruments for use on a street.n. Amplifiers, loud speakers, megaphones, or anything similaro. Drums or Drum kits (including objects being used as a drum)p. Wind instruments, including brass instruments and woodwind instruments.

Standard Conditions contained in Appendix B of the Policy1. The license must be displayed when performing and shown to either an Authorized Officer or Police Officer on request.2. The license permits Busking on any street in Camden between the hours of 10am to 9pm, unless restricted by an additional condition on the license.3. The license only permits Busking by the performer(s) named on the license, and may not be used by, or transferred to, another person.4. Music and singing shall not be performed at a level that causes public nuisance or annoyance to any business or resident.5. The following types of equipment and instruments are not permitted for use on a street:i. Amplifiers, loud speakers, megaphones, or anything similarj. Drums or Drum kits (including objects being used as a drum)k. Wind instruments, including brass instruments and woodwind instruments.6. Performances may only be carried on in a location with sufficient space for the performance (and taking into account the number of performers) and the expected audience size. The location must not be on or adjacent to pedestrian crossings, bus stops or station entrances/exits, or other doorways to residential or business properties.7. The performance must not be carried on in a way that causes an obstruction to pedestrians or traffic. This includes preventing any audience blocking the pavement so that pedestrians have to walk in the road to get past, with the space left for pedestrians being at least 1.8m measured from the edge of the kerb to the area being used for the performance and any associated audience.8. A suitable distance from other Buskers must be maintained, and a performance must not be carried on or started within 50m of another busker already performing.9. No pyrotechnics, fireworks or similar shall be used as part of the performance.10. The license holder must comply with any direction given by an Authorized Officer or Police officer, which may include directions to stop performing or to move location to prevent a public nuisance or obstruction being caused.Do you agree that all the Standard Conditions in Appendix B of the Policy are suitable?

No instruments should be prevented from being used. Amplifiers can be turned to an appropriate level, drums can be played using brushes, and wind instruments can be played with a range of dynamics. To exclude any form of instrument as a matter of policy is antithetical to a culture of creativity and diversity on the streets of Camden.

1. The licence must be displayed when performing and shown to either an Authorised Officer or Police Officer on request.

It should not be necessary to hold or to display licences for busking. Busking is a legitimate activity and use of public space.

2. The licence permits Busking on any street in Camden between the hours of 10am to 9pm, unless restricted by an additional condition on the licence.

See earlier comments about times on a licence.

3. The licence only permits Busking by the performer(s) named on the licence, and may not be used by, or transferred to, another person.

Performers should be allowed to perform unless it can be lawfully demonstrated that they are causing harm to others. Evidence against buskers should be substantiated. Action against buskers should be proportionate to the ‘harm’ caused.

4. Music and singing shall not be performed at a level that causes public nuisance or annoyance to any business or resident.

The word ‘any’ is highly problematic. Some residents or businesses may not like any buskers and might make frequent complaints despite the fact that every other resident and business in the area enjoys what buskers are doing. This clause has the potential to give undue influence to potentially ONE complaint.

5. The following types of equipment and instruments are not permitted for use on a street:

Amplifiers, loud speakers, megaphones, or anything similar
Drums or Drum kits (including objects being used as a drum)
Wind instruments, including brass instruments and woodwind instruments.

This is unreasonable, and irrational. It discriminates against entire genres of music and musicians. it overlooks the fact that most professional street musicians support performances with amplifiers because they need to be heard just above the level of ambient street noise for the performance to be effective. This clause criminalises whole groups of instruments and stifles creativity and spontaneity. It should be replaced by a clause that relates to noise levels and intrusion, rather than groups of instruments and equipment per se.

6. Performances may only be carried on in a location with sufficient space for the performance (and taking into account the number of performers) and the expected audience size. The location must not be on or adjacent to pedestrian crossings, bus stops or station entrances/exits, or other doorways to residential or business properties.

7. The performance must not be carried on in a way that causes an obstruction to pedestrians or traffic. This includes preventing any audience blocking the pavement so that pedestrians have to walk in the road to get past, with the space left for pedestrians being at least 1.8m measured from the edge of the kerb to the area being used for the performance and any associated audience.

Clause 6 and 7 relate to the same matter essentially, namely, the use of space. ASAP agrees that buskers should not cause obstruction and would advice buskers to choose their pitch with consideration to other users of shared space. However, as much of Camden is not pedestrianised, the requirement to allow over 1.8 metres of space for audiences to walk past will effectively apply to enormous areas of Camden. Often buskers perform in a spot where people walk past and don’t linger. Common sense principles should apply and narrow interpretations should be avoided.

8. A suitable distance from other Buskers must be maintained, and a performance must not be carried on or started within 50m of another busker already performing.

A 50 metre rule is a sensible principle for acts that generate noise. It should not apply in a blanket fashion to all buskers. In the case of jugglers and mime artists for instance, they can stand closer to a musical act and vice versa without causing undue interference to each other.

9. No pyrotechnics, fireworks or similar shall be used as part of the performance.

This is entirely sensible!

10. The licence holder must comply with any direction given by an Authorised Officer or Police officer, which may include directions to stop performing or to move location to prevent a public nuisance or obstruction being caused.

This clause should be amended to ‘any REASONABLE direction’. Buskers have the right to be expect fair treatment. They should not be prevented from performing in an arbitrary and capricious manner by any authorised officer or Police officer. This clause also seems to allow officers to act pre-emptively, namely when no problem is being caused, without having to offer proof or justification for their actions. This is not acceptable. An officer needs to have a lawful reason to stop any performer.

Whilst even the standard conditions for the busking licence are extremely restrictive, this policy and the licensing framework seems designed to make busking supported by amplification, wind and percussion instruments particularly difficult. There is a state presumption against amplification in most cases. Given that most professional street musicians generally use some form of amplification, this will affect most buskers who would be thinking of applying for a license from Camden.

The Standard Conditions are attached to all licenses, unless they have been expressly excluded or amended in any particular case. For details on the procedure for removing or varying the Standard Conditions see Sections 5 and 6. Applicants should note that Camden will only remove or vary the standard conditions if a good reason is provided by the applicant and that the request can be justified against this Policy.Additional conditions may also be attached to a license and they may relate to the following criteria, amongst others:q. the area in which busking may take placer. the hours during which busking may take places. the prevention of obstruction to persons using the streett. the prevention of public nuisance to the occupiers of nearby propertyPermitted TimesUnder the Street Designation, (see Section 3), the maximum permitted time for Busking is 10am to 9pm on any day of the week and these times have been included as a Standard Condition. The Standard Condition may be varied to set a shorter time, but may not allow earlier or later times.Use of amplifiersCamden is concerned about the use of amplifiers to support performances and the impact that the resulting noise has on local residents and business occupiers. The Standard Condition preventing amplifiers is therefore considered necessary in most cases.Where requests are made to vary this condition, advice will normally be sought from an Environmental Health Officer or other person with specialist knowledge in noise prevention, who may also be a member of the Panel deciding the application. (see Section 6)Consideration will be given to the location for the performance, the times of day requested, the duration of the performance and the likely volume to be audible at the nearest residential or business property.Camden will not grant permission to use amplifiers on the street beyond 9pm under any circumstances. This is due to a restriction on using loudspeakers on the street between 9pm to 8am in Section 62 of the Control of Pollution Act 1974.If permission to use amplifiers is granted, it is likely that additional conditions will be imposed to limit the times of day, duration of performances and permitted locations.Use of Drums and Wind InstrumentsDrums and Wind instruments are prevented through the Standard Conditions. If applications are made to remove or amend this condition, the Council expects applicants to demonstrate that they have considered the impact that this may have, and provide any additional conditions to manage that impact. The considerations could include:l. The locations and times where performances will take placem. The proximity to residents or businesses, and the likelihood of public nuisance being causedn. The amount of space in the street at those locationsWhen the Council considers any request to remove or amend this condition, it will have high regard to the factors listed above, along with the rest of the Policy.Do you agree with the guidance set out here for considering changes to the standard conditions?

‘The Standard Condition preventing amplifiers is therefore considered necessary in most cases’

The focus on amplification, wind and percussion instruments per se is unfortunate and appears to scapegoat these forms of instrumentation. A policy could be improved by focussing on noise levels and the intrusiveness of such a noise, rather than the form of instrumentation. In addition, it is not reasonable to suppose that a resident or business will not be able to ‘hear’ a busker. Clearly, most streets have residents and businesses on them. The relevant question must be, is this noise at an acceptable level, not can it be heard at all. Much of the noise in an urban environment originates with traffic which is typically louder than any busker. Investigations by the Live Music Forum into actual noise complaints made have shown that an estimated 90% of complaints relate to music from a domestic premise, not to mention noise from construction work, shops and the use of machinery. Therefore, Camden risks altering the whole character of the Borough and restricting the outlets for grassroots culture whilst leaving unaddressed the noise issues which actually cause most disruption to its residents.

9.) License Fees

A fee can be charged for a busking license, which can be determined by the Council to cover in whole or in part the reasonable administrative or other costs in connection with the functions under the Act. As with other license types, this may only be on a cost recovery basis as a maximum, and cannot be used to raise revenue to fund general Council services.A fee is proposed to be charged on a cost recovery basis, which is expected to be in the region of:New Applications (No changes to standard conditions):£31.94Variation Applications:£123.30

Do you agree that it is appropriate for Camden to charge a fee on a cost recovery basis as indicated above?

If you don’t agree, please state how you believe Camden should finance the costs associated with determining applications and issuing licenses.

It is entirely unfair to impose a layer of restrictions upon buskers which will greatly diminish their ability to perform effectively in the Borough, and then to ask them to pay for it. This is effectively a tax upon the legitimate use of public space.

That a Labour controlled council has found the resources to implement this consultation and to propose a busking licence scheme, whilst making enormous cut backs in other areas of essential provision, highlights just one of the many troubling aspects of this policy. To ask the people whose freedom it proposes to take away to pay for its implementation is completely unacceptable. The policy in its present form should be replaced by a best practise guide which makes effective use of existing legislation and which aims to promote relationships of cooperation between users of shared public spaces. This will be a more effective use of public resources and will be cost effective because it can be achieved at little additional expense.

10.) Do you have any other comments to make on the proposed policy?

This proposed policy is highly problematic for a number of reasons. Whilst its stated intent is to reduce the increasing number of complaints that have been received about buskers in the last 12 months, its overall effect will be to drastically alter the cultural landscape of Camden, one of the most vibrant and diverse metropolitan districts in the world.

The London Local Authorities Act 2000 is a clumsy statutory instrument which empowers public officials or approved contractors to seize the musical instruments/equipment of unlicensed buskers, to impose fines of up to £1000, and to sell a busker’s instruments if the fine is not paid within 28 days. These powers are draconian and have the potential to deprive people of their livelihoods and the tools of their trade. They are vulnerable to legal challenge and have the capacity to generate immense adverse publicity for the council and for its elected representatives. It is also unnecessary because the council and police have the power, under existing legislation, to take appropriate action, including seizing equipment, but only after due process and the serving of noise abatement notices when it can de lawfully demonstrated that a genuine noise nuisance is being caused. In most cases, this approach will be entirely unnecessary. Residents and businesses and buskers should be encouraged to talk to each other and resolve disputes amicably with the involvement of police and council officers being a last resort

Street performance is characteristically an informal and impromptu expression of grassroots art and culture. Traditionally buskers move from place to place and are not confined to one area. A borough like Camden attracts musicians and artists from all over the world. Often bands who are performing in one of the many venues across the borough will take to the streets to publicise their gig in a spontaneous manner. By requiring people to sign up for a strict and highly limiting license system, Camden will be drastically reducing the number of people who will consider busking in the borough. Camden are effectively criminalising an activity with a high cultural benefit and greatly reducing their would-be pool of performers. In this consultation document busking appears to be regarded as a nuisance which needs to be tightly controlled, rather than as a valuable part of the cultural offering of Camden which supports and compliments the visitor economy, and adds to a sense of urban well being.

These regulations will have the effect of making it almost impossible to busk in Camden as well as setting a dubious example to the rest of the country. They are an assault on the freedom for people to use shared public spaces for grassroots expressions of art and culture and, in particular, upon the ability of musicians to share their art with the public. The restrictions are particularly unnecessary in light of the fact that there are many statutory powers available to the council to deal with genuine episodes of nuisance without invoking new laws (Such as the Environmental Protection Act 1990 or the Noise and Statutory Nuisance Act 1993). At a time when local authorities are being forced to make large cuts in spending, it is, at best, unfortunate, that Camden are proposing to spend scarce public resources on a policy like this when there are so many other issues of pressing concern.
Camden is one of the most dynamic and culturally diverse areas in London. It hosts many iconic music venues and is home to MTV studios and many record labels. It is famous worldwide as a vibrant centre for the arts and live music, as well as for its famous markets and nightlife. The council’s proposals to introduce draconian busking regulations threaten to damage Camden’s reputation as a local authority that nurtures and supports the arts as well as to damage the enjoyment of thousands of people, both visitors and residents, who enjoy the dynamic street culture scene in this iconic London Borough. The Council’s plans in their current form lack imagination and stifle creativity. At best they represent a heavy-handed response to complaints about noise at worst, they are a damaging attempt to restrict freedoms attached to the use of public space at a time of austerity and the closure of many live venues.
As a local authority that values its proud artistic and musical heritage, Camden should abandon its plans to license busking, and instead consult with street performers, residents, professional bodies like the Musician’s Union and Equity, as well as educational establishments such as the London College of Music to come up with a supportive policy framework for busking that builds and improves upon Camden’s already vibrant street culture scene, deals proportionately with the issues that arise from busking from time to time, and, in-so-doing, benefits the well being of the entire borough and the city beyond it. They should draw upon examples of best practise from cities as diverse as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cambridge, Norwich, Bournemouth, Canterbury, Liverpool and York where compulsory licences are not used to control busking issues, and the local authority instead creates a supportive framework for the management of the issues that inevitably arise in a busy and dynamic urban environment when people share space.

Street culture in Camden is under imminent and real threat. Under plans being drawn up by Camden Council, Street Performers face a fine of up to £1000 for the ‘crime’ of busking without a license. Council officers will have the power to seize musical instruments and other equipment, the tools of a busker’s trade, and to sell them if the fine is not paid within 28 days. ASAP has set up a petition calling on the council to rethink their plans, you can sign it here.

They are currently conducting a public consultation on their proposals to introduce a draconian licensing scheme for busking. If this scheme is introduced, it will be one of the most restrictive busking policies in the entire United Kingdom. Buskers will have to pay an annual fee of up to £123 to perform on the streets. A presumption against the use of wind instruments (including flutes and recorders), as well as any form of percussion (No bongoes or bins) or amplification (regardless of volume level) will apply.

The ‘right’ to seize instruments and equipment will also extend to private contractors working for Camden and is NOT dependant on a public nuisance having been demonstrated. Under this policy, busking without a license is itself criminalised. This could lead to a situation where people’s most prized possessions are taken from them by force and sold for no other reason than strumming a guitar in the street. This is not an acceptable use of state power or public resources.

These proposed regulations will have the effect of making it almost impossible to busk in Camden as well as settting a damaging precedent for other parts of the country. They are an assault on the freedom for people to use shared public spaces for grassroots expressions of art and culture and the ability of musicians to share their art with the public. The restrictions are particularly unnecessary in light of the fact that there are many statutory powers available to the council to deal with genuine episodes of nuisance without invoking new laws (Such as the Environmental Protection Act 1990 or the Noise and Statutory Nuisance Act 1993). At a time when local authorities are being forced to make large cuts in spending, it is, at best, unfortunate, that Camden are proposing to spend scarce public resources on a policy like this when there are so many other issues of pressing concern relating to poverty, homelessness, drug and alcohol dependency, the closure of essential services for social care and genuine crimes againt the person.

My name is Jonny Walker. I am a professional street performer, singer songwriter and the Founding Director of the Association of Street Artists and Performers (ASAP!) a body that exists to campaign against policies that threaten street culture and to promote the idea that our shared public spaces belong to all of us and should be protected for the common good. We campaigned againt a busking law in Liverpool that would have seen buskers prosecuted for ‘tresspassing’ in a public space and facing other stringent limits on their freedom to perfrom, and we won. We asked York City Council to review their busking permit scheme because of the many restrictions it imposed on street artists, and they listened and made changes involving street artists and performers in that process. Now we are asking the same of Camden Council.

Camden is one of the most dynamic and culturally diverse areas in London. It hosts many iconic music venues and is home to MTV studios and many record labels. It is famous worldwide as a vibrant centre for the arts and live music, as well as for its famous markets and nightlife. The council’s proposals to introduce draconian busking regulations threaten to damage Camden’s reputation as a local authority that nurtures and supports the arts as well as to damage the enjoyment of thousands of people, both visitors and residents, who enjoy the dynamic street culture scene in this iconic London Borough. The Council’s plans in their current form lack imagination and stifle creativity. At best they represent a heavy-handed response to complaints about noise and the use of a whopping great sledge hammer to crack a very small nut, at worst, they are a damaging attempt to restrict freedoms attached to the use of public space at a time of austerity and the closure of many live venues.

As a local authority that values its proud artistic and musical heritage, Camden should abandon its plans to license busking, and instead consult with street performers, residents, professional bodies like the Musician’s Union and Equity, as well as educational establishments like the London College of Music to come up with a supportive policy framework for busking that builds and improves upon Camden’s already vibrant street culture scene, deals proportionately with the issues that arise from busking from time to time, and, in-so-doing, benefits the well being of the entire borough and the city beyond it.

Some of you will be aware of that I have recently been asked to be the patron of a Norwich based charity called Musical Keys who provide music, movement and fun for children and young people with special/complex needs. One of the reasons they asked me to be their patron was because ASAP’s vision of public space being used for grassroots expressions of art and culture matches their vision of music being used to promote wellbeing amongst people regardless of ability or background. Their valuable work helps vulnerable people find an outlet for self expression and enjoyment.

It shows a busker in Bath, who appears to have learning difficulties, being interrupted mid-song and being shouted at and abused by another musician. It is quite shocking. The bullying busker is called Gary Millhouse. He is a classical guitarist, has played in Bath for 17 years and is a self-appointed elder of the local busking community. He is a good musician, but nothing can excuse the behaviour on display here, captured on camera by a bystander. There has been this article published in the Bath Chronicle about the events.

Gary Millhouse is said to have apologised for his actions but his words in this article seem like an attempt to justify his behaviour by accusing the other busker of playing on an unlicensed pitch and being ‘too loud’. This is a total non-apology in my view and is an example of what happens when a group of buskers try to cosy up to a local authority and gang up on other performers. Bath, a beautiful city, is in danger of becoming a protection racket where a small group of buskers dominate public space and try to push other people out. Gary, you need to give this man a genuine apology and learn to share space with him, and not attempt to justify your bullying behaviour.

I’m going to be crystal clear. Public space belongs to all of us. The freedom to express yourself artistically, regardless of ability, is fundamental. Disputes will arise wherever human beings interact but need to be dealt with using civility and compromise not abusive behaviour, bullying and threats of violence. I notice from the above article that other Bath buskers have tried to defend Gary Millhouse’s actions. I’m afraid they are striking the wrong note. Busking codes of conduct need to be based upon mutuality, respect and cooperation. They should not be imposed upon people by external authorities, and certainly should not concern themselves with subjective judgments of talent and ability.

Buskers need to work together to build community, not gang up on each other. This poor lad should be encouraged and supported NOT reduced to tears and frightened off.

I set up ASAP to build urban community and advocate for policies that promote a vibrant and varied street culture and to campaign against council policies that impose onerous constraints upon people who want to enjoy artistic freedom in public space.

If you share these values, please join ASAP…it is totally free http://streetslive.org/join and please share this message with others who you think might share my concern with the kind of behaviour on display in Bath.

A whole lot of water has flowed under the bridge in York in the last two and a half weeks, almost as if the River Ouse itself had burst its banks. Yesterday the flood waters receded. I attended a meeting with York City Council. I was accompanied by Morris Stemp, Regional Organiser of the Musician’s Union and Neill Ryan, a well-loved musician who often busks in York. We sat around the table with a couple of officers from the Licensing Department and with Gill Cooper who is Head of Culture, Tourism and City Centre for York.

I would describe the encounter as a triumph of common sense. Gill Cooper is a person who I feel clearly has the good of the City in mind and wants York to be a welcoming place for buskers. She acknowledged that times have changed since the York Busking scheme was first introduced in 2005 and that their policies may well need to change with them.

I feel like I was given a fair hearing and that the issues I have raised were taken on board. I have been told that my busking badge is being reinstated. Gill Cooper has shown a genuine interest in receiving input from the Musician’s Union and street performers as they look at ways of improving their busking policy and making it fairer. Shared public spaces that are welcoming, diverse and vibrant are in everybody’s interest, so I have confidence we will be able to find ways of working together.

As the founding director of ASAP! I want to see public spaces that are open to grassroots expressions of art and culture. We welcome any changes to policies that lift unnecessary restrictions and burdens on performers. We want to see the shared spaces of our towns and cities filled with spontaneity, and, dare I say it, with joy! Issues that arise whenever different people work together will need to resolved through cooperation and good communication, and not in a heavy-handed way.

I am very grateful to everybody who took the time to add their names to our petition. You helped us make a difference. I also want to say a personal thank you for the many expressions of support I have received during what has been a difficult and stressful couple of weeks. At times I have been afraid that I would never be able perform in a city that I love, or, worse, that I would end up in York Dungeon!

This is not a time for complacency however. Performers in many other towns and cities across the country face many unnecessary problems in pursuing their craft. ASAP! will continue the fight to keep streets alive with buskers, artists, poets and troubadours, to work with local authorities constructively wherever we can, but to not be afraid of challenging injustice.

Whoever you are, and whatever your gifts, we would love you to work with us in our dream to remove barriers for those who wish to take their art to the streets. There is no charge to join us, just follow this link:

http://streetslive.org/join

I would also strongly encourage musical buskers to join the Musician’s Union. They work tirelessly on behalf of musicians across the country, whether they play first violin for London Philharmonic orchestra or ‘Don’t Think Twice, It’s alright’ on the streets of York. Plus, if you are a student it’s only £20 a year to join:

http://www.musiciansunion.org.uk/join-the-mu/join-now-2/

Please share this message with anybody you think will be interested in the ongoing campaign for open and vibrant public spaces. We are strongest when we work together!

It was a typical damp Wednesday busking in York. That’s me, Jonny Walker, looking a bit upset on the left. On the right, partially obscured, are no less than SIX public servants from the council and the police who are taking time out of their afternoon to deal with that social menace otherwise known as busking.

York Council charge street performers £40 per day if they want to sell CDs of their music to the public. That is a lot of money when you are already performing for free in rain or shine. So I have written a sign that says ‘cd available, suggested contribution £7, these CDs are not being offered for sale, contributions are voluntary and at your discretion’. The lady in the black jacket told me to take the sign down and the CDs out or I would lose my busking permit. I have had a permit for nine years, but that doesn’t seem to count for anything.
I politely refused at which point she called the licensing department who accused me of street trading. I said that the CDs were not for sale, they are an extension of my busking act, any contribution is voluntary. At this point the man said, ‘Take away his busking permit’.

I was told to turn off my microphone or that the police would be called. I said that I was doing nothing unlawful and was not prepared to stop playing. At this point the police were called.

There I was with two council officials, two licensing officials and two police officers. I don’t know whether they enjoyed my version of Hallelujah, but the Licensing Enforcement officer gave me a caution, read me my rights, took a photo of my sign and took two copies of my cd. The lady from the council walked away and told me she would be speaking to her boss to see whether I would have my permit revoked for the insubordination.

I was left in peace to carry on singing…but for how long?

The Association of Street Artists and Performers has been set up because accross the country local authorities are getting heavy handed with people who want nothing more then to perform their art on the streets. Public space belongs to all of us, and the High Streets, under pressure from Internet shopping, out of town developments, high rents and the dire economic situation need to be full of life and music to keep people’s spirits up. Street performance gives a place a sense of community and well-being, and is one of the many reasons people still have for actually physically going to a place.

So instead of sending 6 public servants to try to intimidate a street musician, why doesn’t the local authority work with the street artists and performers to build a sense of community, and public places that everybody can feel part of. The campaign to Keep Streets Live is only just beginning! Whether you are a street performer yourself, would like to be, or just value art at street culture level, join us on this journey….

Please feel free to share this with other people. The time has come for the streets to be acknowledged as the vitally important spaces that they are, both for music, the arts and for a greater sense of community…

The summer of 2012 will be remembered for many things, the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations, the Olympics and the continued stagnation of the UK economy, amongst other events. The street artists and performers of Liverpool will remember it for another reason, however: it was a time when a ragtag collection of artists, misfits, buskers and other concerned citizens stood up to Liverpool City Council and said a resounding ‘No!’ to their restrictive and coercive license scheme. Liverpool Council’s ‘Street Activity Management Plan‘ covered street preachers, skateboarders, political activists as well as buskers. The policy had sought to strangle the freedom of all those whose use of public space in Liverpool City Centre did not meet the council’s limited criteria of approval. Well-trodden streets were, at the stroke of a bureaucratic pen, turned into ‘regulated entertainment zones’ where impromptu performers faced the threat of trespass prosecutions if they dared to play without a council permit. The policy had been lobbied for by the City Central Business Improvement District (BID), an unelected, democratically-unaccountable, quasi-governmental body that represents the interests of major retailers in exchange for an additional layer of rates. For them, the urban environment is a space that needs to be tightly controlled and managed. In Councillor Stephen Munby, they found a local politician prepared to endorse their vision of a city centre that kept all ‘un-authorised’ street activity at bay and enabled the veneer of democratic approval to be placed upon a policy that was coercive, anti-democratic – not mention unlawful – to it’s very core.

Whatever it was that drew Stephen Munby into politics, and, by all accounts he was something of a marxist firebrand in his youth (he wrote for Marxism Today and Challenge, The Young Communist League’s Magazine amongst others), I doubt it was the desire to oversee and legitimise a heavy-handed clamp down upon street culture. When Joe Anderson joined the Labour party I’m sure that siding with the perceived interests of the rich and powerful against the marginalised and the vulnerable was not his primary motivation. In fact, I have no doubt that both men have, at times, been motivated by the genuine desire to serve the public and to make the world a better place. But when these elected politicians, however unwittingly, give legitimacy to policies that are coercive and soul-sapping in their assault upon freedom and creativity, they must be held to account. This is why the Keep Streets Live! campaign launched a legal challenge with the support of Kirwans Solicitors which saw the council withdraw their contentious legislation in September this year. That is why we were hoping that the council would take the opportunity presented by the abandonment of their scheme to work with the city’s street artists and performers, with the input of the Musician’s Union, to come up with a best practise guide that enhances the vibrancy of the city centre. We were still waiting for the council’s invitation to such a meeting when the next phase of their busker clampdown began.

Over the past three weeks Liverpool Council have conducted an operation that involved council officials, accompanied by police officers, approaching every street performer in the city and asking them for their names and addresses. We at ASAP! believe that in a free society it is an act of intimidation to approach a person who is behaving lawfully with uniformed officials and to ask for names and addresses, so we advised street performers to politely decline such requests. When performers did decline they were told to move on, that they were causing an obstruction and, in some cases, vague threats of arrest were made. When our solicitor David Kirwan wrote to the Council’s solicitor to ask for an explanation of their behaviour he received an evasive and dissembling reply:

The City Centre Management Team conducted a joint exercise with Merseyside Police and Environmental Health over two weekends to ensure that all busking activity in the City Centre was being conducted without causing any issues in relation to noise nuisance or obstruction and also to ensure that all buskers were aware of what is required of them to ensure vibrant city centre entertainment which works for all stakeholders.

To people on the ground it was experienced more as a coordinated campaign of harassment and intimidation, especially as no-one who was approached was doing anything unlawful or disruptive. The reply continued:

As part of the activity, buskers were approached and were given advice and guidance in relation to issues such as noise nuisance and obstruction. As a local authority, we have a statutory duty as regulators to ensure that we evidence any advice and guidance that we distribute prior to implementing any enforcement which may prove necessary. It was pursuant to this requirement for evidence that names and addresses were sought so that the Council would have to hand details of those to whom we had spoken and the information with which they had been provided.

When you cut through the thick layer of jargon and bureaucratic language, this makes it sound like it was no more than a council outreach program on behalf of buskers. It was no such thing. It was a coordinated attempt to intimidate street artists, and to show them who was in charge following the council climbdown over the summer. We received many reports of buskers being threatened with arrest, moved on by the police, and even being told by council officials that details of who was performing on ‘Liverpool Council’s property’ would be passed on to the Inland Revenue and Benefits Office to ensure that no benefits claims were being made. This is unnacceptable behaviour designed merely to cause fear and uncertainty.

These are hard times. We have a national government who are cutting the benefits of the poorest and most vulnerable members of our society and starving local authorities of the money they need to carry out their statutory duties. Jobs and money are scarce, people are suffering. In this light, is it acceptable for the local authority to be diverting the scarce time and resources of the police and other bodies for a Christmas clamp down on buskers, when budgets are already stretched to the limit? There are deep social problems in Liverpool, harsh budget cut-backs, a housing crisis, high unemployment, homelessness and widespread drug and alcohol dependency. With this in mind, it seems obvious that such issues that are genuinely caused by buskers are easy to deal with, without the need for heavy handed action against performers or spending scarce council time and money passing legislation that restricts street culture in a city whose very lifeblood is music. The Council observe that there are more buskers then ever before, but why this should surprise them at a time of high unemployment is beyond us. Why do they feel the need to make life more difficult for performers then it already is? The local authority are best understood as stewards and guardians of our public spaces. They should be celebrating the diverse talent that take to the streets to entertain the public, they should support those individuals who brave the elements with no guarantee of reward and animate the urban environment, and they should stand alongside all users of the shared public spaces of the city centre and work with us all to build community and resolve such issues as do arise amicably.

So Councillor Stephen Munby and Mayor Joe Anderson, let’s put a stop to this silliness. You both have better things to be spending your time on then worrying about buskers on the streets of Liverpool. There are a lot of people suffering right now. There is poverty all around us. The shiny new Waterfront developments and LiverpoolONE do not hide the fact that deeper problems face the Liverpool community then a few ‘pesky’ buskers. ASAP! wants to work with you, with the help of the Musician’s Union, to find creative ways of dealing with busking issues without resorting to coercive legislation or heavy handed council action. Liverpool is known worldwide for its culture and music, but also for its friendliness and openness of spirit. By working together, we can build on Liverpool’s growing reputation and enhance the life of the city. We are waiting for your call Liverpool City Council.

Only two short months after being forced to abandon their contentious and coercive busking license scheme, we have reliable reports that Liverpool City Council are up to their old tricks again. We have received information that individual street artists and performers have been approached by police officers and council officials and asked to give their names and addresses. Many performers have been approached on multiple occasions in what amounts to a coordinated campaign of harassment and intimidation.

In the light of the savage cuts to essential services that the council are having to put through, we think that a new campaign against the buskers of Liverpool is a terrible misuse of the council’s scarce time and resources. Our shared public spaces are a vitally important resource for our communities. Buskers help create a sense of place and identity for a city. Compulsory license schemes are bureaucratic, restrictive and unnecessary. A common sense voluntary code of conduct is all that is needed to promote a vibrant culture of street performance. Issues that arise from time to time can easily be dealt with on a case by case basis without the need for regulation.

ASAP! exists to help protect our public spaces and to safeguard street culture. We want to help local authorities to see the benefits of street animation, and to help them realize that this is one area of city life where a light-touch, hands-off approach will bear fruit. The city council at its best is a steward of our shared resources and exists to promote and protect the common good. When it goes after street performers in a misguided attempt to create ‘order’ on the streets, it departs from its primary function. We ask them to seriously consider whether sending out enforcement officials and police officers to intimidate people who are bringing life and colour to the streets is a good use of their time and efforts at this time.

In order to help Liverpool City Council see sense, and to raise awareness of this new campaign of intimidation, we are arranging a spontaneous celebration of street culture in the form of a communal busk this Thursday the 22nd of November on Church Street, Liverpool, just outside of Primark. We will be gathering from 5pm onwards with our instruments of choice. This will be a peaceful and joyful occasion. Everyone is welcome. We will be a positive presence on the streets! And remember, wether you are a street artist and performer, or just someone who values and cherishes street culture, ASAP! is here for you. We will not stand aside whilst local authorities conduct misguided clampdowns on a vital aspect of civic life. We will continue to campaign to keep streets live!

Christian and Jonny present David Kirwan, Senior Partner of Kirwan’s Soliciters, with a gift on behalf of street artists and performers in Liverpool whose livilihoods his public-spirited legal support has helped to safeguard.

There is an autumnal chill in the air and the nights are drawing in, already the memories of summer are fading and winter looms ahead, a time when most buskers have to dig out their thermals and fingerless gloves. But despite the colder weather and the diminishing hours of sunlight, our spirits are high. More than three months after its introduction, and under threat of legal action initiated by the Keep Streets Live! campaign, Councillor Stephen Munby announced Liverpool City Council’s decision to abandon their contentious busking at a recent cabinet meeting. This climbdown is hugely welcome and highly significant. It demonstrates that a constructive campaign of opposition can make a difference, and represents a significant moment in the ongoing campaign to protect street culture. At long las common sense has prevailed. We hope that this council reversal represents the beginnings of a new culture of cooperation and compromise between street performers and the powers that be.

Early on into the campaign, Kirwans Solicitors offered pro bono legal support to our cause, and began a legal challenge which was instrumental in the policy’s downfall. David Kirwan, Senior Partner at the firm, described Liverpool’s scheme as “oppressive, irrational and disproportionate“. At our campaign’s invitation, Kirwans initiated a formal legal challenge in the form of a judicial review application on behalf of Liverpool busker Siobhan McDermott. We know that the legal pressure applied by Kirwans helped to focus the minds of the council, and hope that they will now abandon the use of coercive measures like threats of trespass prosecutions and restrictive license schemes. We look forward to helping them draw up a system which genuinely enhances city life, and doesn’t smother spontaneity with spirit-sapping regulations.

Nonetheless, there are still unanswered questions about the council’s attitude to our legal challenge. Why, for instance, did the council claim that they were always going to review the policy after a three month period? This claim is nowhere to be found in the notes from the cabinet agenda at which the policy was announced and talk of ‘internal reviews’ only emerged after the scheme came under heavy criticism from Keep Streets Live!. The legal challenge we launched by judicial review had to be done in the first three months of the scheme’s introduction or it would have been invalid. We think it is a little bit suspect that the proposed internal council review was to be after three months, precisely after a legal challenge would have been ruled out.

We are also disappointed that the Mayor of Liverpool is still maintaining that the policy was ‘lawful and reasonable’, despite the information that the Keep Streets Live! campaign helped bring to light, and the many contentious points we drew attention to (such as the Simon Cowell clause, threats of trespass prosecutions in public space, the unlawful ban on under-18s and the small issue that the 2003 Licensing Act was never intended to cover busking). The council are continuing to send out mixed messages about the real reasons they dropped the scheme. We hope they come to see just how unreasonable their proposals really were and how troubling were the implications for how our shared public spaces are managed. This will be particularly useful if any new policy that emerges from this episode is to have real credibility.

So how did we arrive at this victory? Beginning life as a petition, growing into a website, taken up by the large number of affected parties, and so ending, finally, in the High Court, the campaign could not have succeed without the generous input and dedication of a wide variety of people who lent their support over the course of the summer.

From the supportive members of the public who turned out en-mass on the streets of Liverpool for celebratory busks to help raise awareness for the campaign, to the devoted members of our legal team, to the many individual buskers and performers who wrote and spoke out with passion and eloquence about the injustice of the council’s decision, people from all walks of life came together in a common effort to stand against an unfair decision. We owe a debt of gratitude to the thousands who signed the petition, to the street performers who turned up to the celebratory busks against the policy, to those who took photographs and made videos, designed websites and flyers, or lent their supportive presence to our various events, to sympathetic members of the public and supportive voices in the cultural and artistic communities of the city, to our dedicated and tenacious legal team, and those journalists who took the time to uncover the real issues at stake in Liverpool. We could not have achieved this without you.

To date, the campaign has attracted coverage from online, print, radio and television media outlets. Early on the Musician’s Union gave us their support and offered to help Liverpool City Council draft a fairer street performance system. This was enormously helpful. The staff at Change.Org also provided valuable advice and insight throughout the campaign.

Liverpool’s restrictive policy on street entertainment touched on many wider issues, and these issues are not going away. What, for example, are our public spaces for? Who are they for and who decides what happens in them? To what extent should narrow private interests be allowed to dictate public policy, in other words? All these questions touch upon the basic issue of what we want our streets to be like.

Street artists and performers are just one group amongst many different users of our shared public spaces. We could also mention political activists, street evangelists, shoppers, skateboarders, street traders and many, many more. All have their unique part to play in the tapestry of our shared urban lives. We agree with Mary Portas when she says in her well-publicised report that

Our high streets can be lively, dynamic and social places…that give a sense of belonging and trust to a community1

We believe that street art and performance adds colour and life to our public spaces and needs to be encouraged and protected.

What Next?

The Association of Street Artists and Performers (or ASAP!)will continue campaigning for a vibrant street culture, and will stand against burdensome and unduly restrictive regulations whether in Liverpool, or elsewhere. ASAP! is a movement for all who have a shared interest in street art and performance, and who value our shared public spaces as places of community, interaction, diversity and spontaneity. We wish to draw our membership widely and work alongside all those who care about street culture. As long as you share our values and are in agreement with our aims, we are happy for you to call yourself an ASAP! member, and we are here to help and support you. There is no charge for membership, although we are preparing information packs that will carry a small charge to cover our admin costs to send out.

If you would like to join ASAP! please fill in this form, add a few words about yourself (if you wish), and we will be in touch.